E^-X NATURE NEAR LONDON 



in air ; but be careful not to reach too far for 

 the blackberries. 



The green sea is on the one hand, the yellow 

 stubble on the other. The porpoise dives along 

 beneath, the sheep graze above. Green seaweed 

 lines the reef over which the white spray flies, 

 blue lucerne dots the field. The pebbles of the 

 beach seen from the height mingle in a faint blue 

 tint, as if the distance ground them into coloured 

 sand. Leaving the footpath now, and crossing 

 the stubble to " France," as the wide open hol- 

 low in the down is called by the shepherds, it is 

 no easy matter in dry summer weather to climb 

 the steep turf to the furze line above. 



Dry grass is as slippery as if it were hair, and 

 the sheep have fed it too close for a grip of the 

 hand. Under the furze (still far from the sum- 

 mit) they have worn a path a narrow ledge, cut 

 by their cloven feet through the sward. It .is 

 time to rest ; and already, looking back, the sea 

 has extended to an indefinite horizon. This climb 

 of a few hundred feet opens a view of so many 

 miles more. But the ships lose their individuality 

 and human character; they are so far, so very far, 

 away, they do not take hold of the sympathies ; 

 they seem like sketches cunningly executed, but 

 only sketches on the immense canvas of the 

 ocean. There is something unreal about them. 



